Category: Projects

I dove into my Prosper quilt pattern last week in preparation for a class I taught at The Quilted Beehive in Ogden UT.   We had a great time sewing with gorgeous fabrics in a lovely space.  For my class samples I leaned into some big juicy florals, mostly from Free Spirit Fabrics.  Specifically, the Celebration of Sanderson prints which I’ve been hanging onto.  And wow, these Prosper quilt blocks are showing off!

I selected a deep navy blue as my background color, which highlights the florals perfectly.  It makes them even brighter and I love it.  I have made this quilt with a white background , and also with prints for the background here and here , but never with a dark solid.  This is the same deep blue I used in my Show Up quilt top.  It’s an Art Gallery solid, called Nocturnal, and is definitely my current favorite.

Consistent with my style, I pulled a few prints from other designers into the mix, such as the Brigitte Giblin print above (navy and white) and the green floral by Windham below.  The purple is a Riley Blake print.  It’s nice to mix designers for a combination that’s unique.

Having made a few blocks, I’m now in the groove so the cutting and sewing feels natural and all the measurements are in my head.  My goal is to make one block each day and finish this quilt top by the end of the week.  It’s going to be a 9 block version instead of 12, like this one I did in solids long ago.  The blocks are large, finishing at 22.5, and each one is its own beautiful composition.

Taking indoor photos means terrible lighting, but I snapped this photo of all four prosper quilt blocks on my design wall anyway.  I love the way the navy background looks in these blocks.  Another reason to finish right away!

I hope you’re working on something fun today!

Jennifer

Well, life is certainly interesting and it has a way of sending us on unexpected detours.  I didn’t mean to step away at all, let alone for over a month.  And to keep it even more curious, here I am today with a quilt I should have shared long ago.  It’s my Secret Garden Quilt in bright colors, mostly Art Gallery Fabrics.  I made my original version in rich jewel tones.  This one is bright and fresh with clear colors throughout.

The Secret Garden quilt is ideal for using large scale prints, LOTS of colors, and juicy florals.  It requires the Jaybird Quilts Hex N More ruler to cut the jewel shapes and triangles, and is incredibly fun to make.  Kind of a “sew outside the block” experience, and one that’s fun to design as you go.  No Y-seams.  Lots of fun.

In fact, most of the fabrics I used here, I purchased simply because I liked them.  I had no idea what I would do with them.  The fun thing is that there are so many little spaces to drop more color and tie things together, that you can use pretty much anything in this quilt and it will come together.  It’s a great exercise in color theory.  Maybe that’s why I love it so much.

I also love the way my eye travels, lingers, and explores this quilt.  It’s definitely not one you can take in at a glance.

I had it quilted in a floral edge to edge pattern that suits the quilt well.

This Secret Garden Quilt in bright colors deserved an equally bright backing, so I chose two favorites.  The striped floral, and the birds in trees.

And of course, a bright pink binding was in order.  Why not?  I’ve definitely been into red or pink bindings for a while now.  I like their bold presence.  This quilt deserved no less.

Just looking at these photos makes my fingers itch to pull fabric for another.  Time to open the pattern and get started!

When I wrote my Serve quilt pattern , it occurred to me that not everyone would want to make a 72″ square quilt , so I also made a version that is two-thirds the size.  This is my Serve Quilt 48″ top, and I’m calling it “Show Up”.

This quilt top is entirely from my stash, and while I LOVED the rich, dark blue, I didn’t have enough of it, so I started adding in pieces of another, not as dark, blue for the background.  Kind of like life.  We use what we have, give what we can.  And you know what?  I LOVE this little quilt top!  I love the scrappy, two color background and the way it makes me look a little longer.

In that same spirit, I decided to play with the red solid also.  The little print I used as the second star color has both red and pink in it, so I decided to sprinkle pink throughout the large star.

I love the bluish-gray I used for the circle of outer stars, but when I tried to use those fabrics for the center star, they fell flat.  It lacked interest.  I had actually been eyeing this vivid green throughout my sewing sessions, so I gave it a try.  It’s perfect.

This unintimidating version – a Serve quilt 48″ quilt top – was a fun, quick sewing project.  It would make a great toddler quilt or would also look great on a wall.  In my case, I want to play with adding other elements to this one as borders, just for fun.  I’m brainstorming what I might want to do, especially since adding pinks, the green, and a second blue gives me room to expand the color scheme of this quilt.  Oh, to have more time to sew without deadlines!  Hopefully soon.

Happy sewing!

Jennifer